


It's Beginning To Feel A Lot Like Christmas

by TheCrimsonStoryteller



Category: H.I.V.E. Series - Mark Walden
Genre: At this point I feel like I'm going to single-handedly fill the Dimitri and Tolya tags, Christmas, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:53:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27831061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCrimsonStoryteller/pseuds/TheCrimsonStoryteller
Summary: The first Christmas Natalya could remember had been spent by herself, an eight-year-old on the streets.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	It's Beginning To Feel A Lot Like Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> Technically this should be posted in Christmas. How ever, I don't care ♡

The first Christmas Natalya could remember had been spent by herself, an eight-year-old on the streets.

She felt like the girl from that story, The Little Match Girl, wandering around the cold streets and looking for somewhere warm to stay the night.

She walked past the stores and houses, trying to ignore her sidden urge to cry as the cold bit into her skin and hunger gnawed at her.

Twelve-year-old Natalya tried to be optimistic about her Christmas. At least that year she wasn't alone. At least that year she had somewhere warm to stay away from the cold. At least this year she wasn't completely hungry.

It was a few days before Dimitri's failed escape attempt. He woke her and Tolya up in the middle of night and gathered them around in the corner of the room, away from the seven other sleeping children, and they chatted among themselves all night, whispering fairy tales and stories to keep each other company.

Dimitri had brought cookies. She and Tolya didn't question where he got them from. They never did. Maybe they should have when he off-handedly mentioned his escape plan once.

Raven was only thirteen when she had to spend her Christmas by herself again. No more stolen cookies and waking up in the middle of the night, courtsey of Dimitri and no more fairytales and constellation facts, courtsey of Tolya.

She could've slept instead, tried to forget about what had happened and push through like nothing had happened. She couldn't let the other kids see her weakness after all.

But she sat there in the corner all night, talking to herself, having a one-way conversation with those who couldn't be seen anymore.

Raven was seventeen. She wasn't in the Glasshouse anymore. She had forgotten that, unlike back in Siberia, Christmas was celebrated on December 25th, two weeks earlier than she was used to.

She was going to stay in her room, stare at the ceiling and reminisce about the tiny few happy memories she had. Ready to let her mind wander away into a happier place, where she wasn't lonely anymore.

Then there was a knock on her door. It was Nero. He wanted to see her.

Raven was thirty three. For seventeen years, every Christmas, she had followed Nero to a very specific and casual meeting or outing, a sort of informal celebration, lacking any meaning to anyone but her.

Though, after all that had happened in the recent years, with Otto and his group of friends almost ending the world every now and then, they were all exhausted, and that was enough of an excuse for Nero to suggest they skipped the sort-of-tradition for that year. Raven had agreed, as much as she hated it, she, too, had to admit that a break was much needed.

She froze when she entered her room that day. On her bed, wrapped in white and blue, was a gift.

**Author's Note:**

> This is fhe third one tonight. I PROMISE I'M TRYING TO GO TO SLEEP I SWEAR-


End file.
